


Trapped Between Gods

by BlessingNinjaPirate



Category: The Avengers (2012), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2014-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-04 04:28:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1765462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlessingNinjaPirate/pseuds/BlessingNinjaPirate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts with Loki joining the team and continues with two brothers falling for an oblivious genius. ThunderFrostIron...x</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trapped Between Gods

It had been amusing when it started. Thor would buy him flowers and Loki would get him chocolate. Later, Thor would bring him some Asgardian ale and Loki would age all of his scotch to perfection. The God of Mischief had won that last round, but that battle, by no means, ended the war for Tony Stark's heart. And Tony, well, Tony was happy watching the two brothers duke it out because Gods! He had never felt so desired in his life. For a while there, his catchphrase actually became, 'Look at me now, dad,' which admittedly had been a little weird, but they all had their problems, so no one was going to call him out on his daddy issues. Especially not when he had two Gods prepared to move mountains for him. The reason behind their actions remained mostly unknown, but Tony would not let a small thing like technicality get in the way of his enjoyment.

That was then.

It was all fun and games until innocence had laughed in his face and promptly introduced him to his crueller and harsher bitch of a sister, reality. She forced Tony to face feelings that he had not realised that he was even capable of feeling. How these things even happened in reality was anyone's guess, but fortunately, this is a story of how Tony Stark messes up and gets himself trapped between Gods.

\--  
Four Years Ago...

It began with Thor pleading with him on his brother's account. The God of Thunder had landed on Tony's skyscraper through the aid of the rainbow bridge, begging for Iron Man to forgive his little brother, and use his power and influence to sway Nick Fury into allowing the slighted prince to become a permanent part of their dysfunctional band of heroes. Tony had, strictly speaking, been sceptical at first, and by sceptical, he means downright dismissive of the idea, until Loki had so graciously offered to let him study his magic - secrets, spells, and silver tongue included.

With the prospect of beautiful science and a reunion of the science bros on his horizon, it had been an easy decision for Tony to join the Team Loki-As-An-Avenger (or #TeamLAAA for short) bandwagon. With the promise of new technology and weapons, even Nick Fury was hard-pressed to reject the generous offer.

»◦◊◦«

Expectedly, he was received with a shit ton of resistance.

"Tony, are you fucking serious right now? The bastard used me as a goddamn puppet." No surprises there as to who would object most fervently and so fucking loudly, too.

Natasha was at Clint's side then, laying a placating hand on his shoulder, and Tony could not help but notice her complete lack of objection to the issue at hand. It did make him suspicious, but then again, Tony acknowledged the fact that he would always be a little bit suspicious of Romanov. She was a smart woman, perceptive, too, so she was probably already weighing out the pros and cons in her head, predicting every possible outcome before she chose whose side she was on. Until then, by default, she would side with Clint.

Tony could picture her and Loki getting on like a house of fire, if she ever managed to get over the whole 'miserable quim' debacle. Seriously, hear him out here. They were conniving, manipulative, and stubborn individuals, but he realised that he should not be focussing on the negatives while trying to sway them towards favouring the would-be King. They were both unwaveringly loyal, if you could count on Thor's (most definitely) biased judgement, but you know. He was willing to put water under the bridge. He had already almost forgiven the ex-megalomaniac for the whole window incident.

"Come on, Legolas, think rationally here. I understand that you can't stand the guy, and by the way, I'm so not asking you to, but just picture all of the benefits of having him on our team."

Tony walked towards the archer, hands resting on his biceps as he looked into his eyes, trying to convey that what he was doing was for the best of the team. Yes, his reasoning had been selfish at the start, but he had since had a few days to really consider what he was doing. And he strongly believed that it was the right thing. Tony knew a thing about being a lost soul, and he still naively held on to the belief that everyone could be saved. That was why he went into the hero business in the first place – he was all about helping the underdog. And Loki was an underdog if he had ever seen one. He had read the stories, and Loki's life was nothing, if not tragic.

Clint pulled his arm out of Tony's grasp and immediately regretted the action when he saw the subtle hurt that flashed across his teammate and friend's face.

They were all too familiar with each other and knew one another's tells of unconsciously portraying hurt, pain, and vulnerability. Clint knew how Tony still needed approval for everything and how deeply he craved contact with people just to reinstate the fact that his presence was still desired. It had taken him a long time to open up to the S.H.I.E.L.D. representatives and Clint was going to be damned if he let their entire relationship take a backwards slide.

When the engineer would not meet his gaze anymore and made to step back, Clint had had enough. He pulled Tony by the wrist and slammed him bodily against his. The engineer let out a relieved sigh when he felt the archer's strong arms wrap around him.

It had surprised the duo, more so than everyone else, how easily they had bonded. Between the drinking, love for action movies, and general debauchery, they had become vast friends. Tony had science bros with Bruce, but it was different with Clint. The archer was the younger brother Tony did not have or want, but kind of got stuck with, and he would not trade their relationship for anything. Not even Loki, however deserving he was of redemption.

Clint rubbed Tony's back one more time before pulling away reluctantly, already missing the heat that perpetually radiated from the older man.

"Just give me a while to think it over, okay?"

"Of course, Merida, you know that I won't proceed with anything without your consent. I don't speak for you because I care about your opinion." He turned to face the remaining Avengers, nodding his head in acknowledgement when he met Thor's shining and grateful face. "I care about all of your opinions."

Steve, bless his heart, came to stand next to him and put his big palm on Tony's shoulder. He ruffled his head a little, smiling when Tony tried to duck away.

"We know."

It was silent for a few minutes after that as everyone got over all the emotions battling within them. Despite having bonded, they still were not an overly expressive bunch, Thor being the only exception, and the emotional argument between Tony and Clint had taken its toll on the team dynamics.

The engineer decided on a tactical retreat while he gave the rest of them time to come to a decision on their stand on LAAA.

"Take as long as you need. When you're done, find me in the lab."

He smiled weakly at them before disappearing around the corner. Everyone was silent until they heard the almost silent whir of the elevator as Tony descended to his lab.

Bruce was the first to speak up when the tension threatened to suffocate him. He was not good in tense situations.

"You guys know where I stand on the matter. Tony's done too much for me that I cannot possibly let him stand on his own with something so delicate. I'll let him know when I think that he's in over his head, but I genuinely think that he has a few great points on this one. The backlash from the public will be epic, but I think that it will be worth it if we play our cards right."

With his opinion thrown into the mix, Bruce exited the room, following his friend down to the lab, so they could create wonderful science together.

So Tony and Bruce were in. The two Avengers most opposed to the idea glanced between Thor and Natasha, focussing instead on the assassin because they all knew what team the Thunder God was going to represent. The #TeamLAAA shirt that he wore spoke louder than his words ever could.

"Tash?"

"Please, hear me out here, Clint."

If she was already on board, the archer knew that he was fighting a losing battle. He walked over to Tony's bar and decided that he was entitled to the billionaire's most expensive scotch. It was not like he could not afford another one. Having frighteningly wealthy friends definitely had its perks.

It was several hours later, when Clint entered the lab to inform Tony that they had come to a unanimous decision. He eyed the physicist as he stepped in; communicating in that little glance that he wanted some privacy.

If there was one thing that Bruce Banner was exceptional at (physics excluded), it was knowing when his presence was not wanted, and so, he left the pair with a level, "Sandwich break. Humans need sustenance every now and then, Tony. Think about it before I sic Cap on you."

"Thanks for the offer." He smiled gleefully. "Ham and cheese, Bruce - thanks, you're a dear."

The physicist just muttered something about not being someone's maiden boy as he exited, but Tony was convinced that he would get his sandwich.

The air thickened again when it was just him and Clint in the room. The archer sighed crossly and ruffled Tony's hair.

"Hey, where do you get off thinking that it's okay to ruffle my hair? I'm older than you, Catniss. You're the little brother in this relationship." And just like that, the tension dissipated and they were grinning manically at each other while playing the most aggressive game of tickle-tickle ever conceived in human history.

"So," Tony began when they had finally settled down. He leaned his hip against the desk, facing Clint, who sat atop it.

"You, bastard, if you're sure about this, and I mean like adamantly sure, then of course he's in. We care about your opinion, too, you know. You're one of us."

Tony grinned victoriously; ignoring the swell of emotions that flooded his chest because he felt included, damn it.

"My parents were definitely married when they decided to have me."

"Oh, stop it," Clint groaned. "You're so unattractive when you're smug."

"Lies," Tony responded instantly, voice so even that it could be used as a level. "It's literally impossible for me to look anything short of smoking hot."

"Yeah, you're a damn sight for sore eyes when you emerge from your lab at six in the morning after three straight days of playing insomnia."

The genius deadpanned, "Exactly." And just like that, they were laughing freely again.

"Come on, let's go and see what's taking Bruce so long to make my food."

Before he had the chance to pull away, Clint pulled him back into his chest, breathing in the smell of coconuts that was distinctly Tony.

"I'm doing this for you, okay, Tony. I'll try to be civil, but don't expect me to be his best fucking friend or something."

The engineer tsked. "As if I would let you replace me."

"I'm serious, Tony."

The genius buried his head into Clint's neck before sighing deeply.

"I know." He breathed deeply once more as the archer let him go. "I know."

"Don't look so down about it. I said that I'd try, didn't I?"

He ruffled the genius' hair again. Clint did it partly because it annoyed the hell out of Tony, but mostly, he did it because Tony's hair was the softest thing he had ever felt.

The engineer squeaked indignantly, but before he could retaliate, Clint was already across the room, dashing out of the lab in a mad sprint.

"I know where you sleep, asshole." He called after the assassin as he gave chase, glad that everything was cool between them again. He needed his buddy in crime.

»◦◊◦«

With time, a lot of alcohol (pouting and starving himself in Steve's case), Tony convinced the entire team, as well as S.H.I.E.L.D., to actively support the notion of LAAA. He kept the high definition pictures of the team wearing #LAAA t-shirts as proof. However, the videos of him underneath Clint, squirming and begging to be released, while the other tickled him mercilessly were going to be deleted out of existence. So maybe it had been a little much asking the archer to wear a #TeamLAAA shirt with Loki's smug face on it. But despite the embarrassing defeat that he had suffered at Clint's hand, Tony still managed to get him into the shirt, and he counted that as a step in the right direction. You know, small victories and what not.

Later, he would curse (and then thank) his love for science because allowing Loki to move into his tower and become part of the team was the first of many, many mistakes he was going to make.

\--  
One Year Ago...

"Iron Man, look behind you." Steve's voice rang through the com links and Tony whipped his head around, only to be plucked from the air by the gargantuan, robotic, squid-like monster that they were battling this week. Seriously, how did villains even come up with their offensively cliché blueprints of evil? The genius was convinced that they literally had to be wasted twenty four seven to come up with their monumentally terribly ideas. It was like they got together, drank themselves stupid, and then proceeded to create the craziest and most ridiculous monsters that their pea sized brains could conjure. He wanted to meet the fucker that looked at the final blueprints and thought, 'Yes! We have a winner. Robotic Squid Monster will be our most glorious creation, yet.' Yeah, that guy had to be pretty far gone. Perhaps he was in the wrong line of business because the villains seemed to know how to really throw down. Downside of course was that he would not particularly enjoy getting his ass handed to him by the Avengers on a regular basis. Still, it was up for debate.

Well, back to giant, robotic, squid monster. Tony was trapped beneath one of its larger than life tentacles. There was a sickening crunch, and all of a sudden, his suit felt claustrophobic in its tightness. Alarms and warning signs flashed across his HUD in angry red lettering, J.A.R.V.I.S.' disembodied voice sent alerts to the other Avengers while he suffered from a mild panic attack.

The noise within the suit rose to deafening levels, external and internal screams blending together until all Tony could hear was the dull ring of white noise in his ear. Another crunch and everything came to a grinding halt. Deathly silence surrounded the armoured hero. He shut his eyes and waited for the all consuming pain that would signify the end of his life. He'd had a good run, right? Sure, he would have liked a couple more years, but fuck if Tony was going to give this monster – plucked straight out of a Japanese hentei - the satisfaction of seeing him beg.

When an eternity seemed to pass and the pain never came, Tony opened his eyes, only to be met with the most spectacular sight he had ever seen.

Loki had apparently teleported him to a nearby building and then proceeded to fuck up the giant monster with some seriously epic magic. Tony smiled gleefully at the readings that he was going to get from the God of Mischief when this was all over. A roar of thunder distracted him from the magic show, and he turned his head quickly enough to see the Goddamn God of Thunder hammer the squid monster in its robotic head, Mjolnir crackling with electric fury as the squid burnt to a crisp. It was a fantastically stunning display.

Two Gods were on the roof then, righteous indignation in their eyes as they saw the state that their favourite genius was in. Probably an inappropriate reaction to the situation, but Tony was laughing his rich little ass off at the show he just witnessed.

"Holy shit, guys, that was amazing!" He managed to remove his helmet, so that the Gods could actually see his smiling (and most likely bloodied) face. Immediately, the brothers were at his side, tearing at his armour, and okay, that was seriously not cool because that shit cost millions of dollars. Not that Tony really minded though, he had planned on scraping the suit anyway. It clearly was not tough enough to withstand the damage done by heavy-ass squids. He would just huff and puff until the brothers caved and brought him something nice from their golden palace in the sky.

"Are you well, Man of Iron?" Oh yeah, Gods – Team.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. You should have seen the other guy," were the words out of his mouth before he promptly passed out, metallic badass damsel-in-distress style.

"Brother, I will fly him to the Midgardian treatment centre." Thor spoke up when he received no further orders from the com and no one else seemed to be doing anything useful, besides Loki fretting over the broken and bruised billionaire, trying to use his magic to heal the more serious wounds. How did the man even manage to talk with half of his liver crushed?

It took a while for Thor's words to register in Loki's mind, and the second that they did, he was picking up the engineer-turned-superhero and arranging him carefully into his arms.

"Too long - I'll teleport him there myself and heal all of the more mortal wounds."

He did not wait for a response as he faded out of reality. The remaining Avengers finally reached the top of the skyscraper, questions already on the tips of their tongue. It took them long enough. The battle was already over, and two of their members had teleported out of the premises.

"Thor, where're Tony and Loki? Are they alright?"

Thor shook his head sadly and the remaining members took it as a sign indicative of the worst possible outcome.

"Where are they, Thor?" Natasha's voice was hard and it demanded answering.

"They are mostly well. Loki has taken the Man of Iron to the hospital and to personally heal the more fatal wounds."

"Fatal?"

"Nothing that Loki cannot heal; I assure you that they will both be well."

Captain America easily accepted the explanation. A little over a year ago and he would be adamantly against the Trickster God spending alone time with any of the Avengers – Tony especially, seeing how he seemed to be oddly fascinated by the engineer, however, things had changed, and Steve trusted the villain-turned-hero with his life, as well as his team's.

That still did not explain Thor's sour expression.

He must not have been the only one to notice the sombre air around the golden man, because Clint was suddenly at his side, expression unreadable as he bumped his fist again Thor's arm.

"Why the frown, big guy, I thought you said that they were going to be okay? Am I missing something here?"

"Aye, Aye, I did." Thor met all of their eyes, so they would see that there was no doubt in his mind. "But Loki saved his life. He has the advantage now."

They were not quite expecting that response, and the Avengers, sans Bruce and Thor, wore matching expressions, equal parts frowning, worried, and confused. Thor knew what was bothering him and Bruce did, too. Genius, remember? Besides, next to their two resident Gods, he spent the most time with Tony and as an objective observer, he could not help but notice things. Like Steve's inability to watch Disney movies without crying, but then again, everyone knew that. What they all seemed to miss though, was the constant competition between the two brothers. They took up equal amounts of Tony's time, and yet, it never seemed to be enough. No one questioned why they would buy the billionaire flowers, or bring him food and other little tokens of their affections. Even Tony had not quite clued in on this little development.

Bruce thought that it was going to be hilarious when the truth came out.

"Uh, okay, then. Maybe we should go back to base to wait for them. Knowing Tony, he'll be out of the hospital in a few hours. I swear that I'll never understand his vendetta against doctors."

Thor smiled fondly, his spirits clearly lifted. Steve had no idea what he had said or done to uplift the God's mood, but he would take it. He was simply going to be grateful for small victories and put Thor's undecipherable mood down to weird alien hormones.

"As always, Captain, you are right. Maybe all isn't lost and I can still be of aid. Come, my friends, let us take our leave."

Just like his brother before him, Thor did not wait for a response, just swung his hammer around until he was flying in the direction of their home.

"Well, that was strange," Natasha remarked.

Bruce –now human sized- just smiled in response.

»◦◊◦«

Tony eventually came to, groaning and complaining about the harshness of the lights with a pained, 'Damn it, Jarv, lights. Turn down the fucking lights!' The lights dimmed down considerably and Tony released an appreciative sigh as he sank into his heavenly million-thread-count sheets.

His moment of peace did not last very long.

"Son of Stark, how do you feel?" Thor's larger than life presence was suddenly in his face, until all the engineer could see were his golden locks and blue, so very blue, eyes.

"Give him room to breathe, you big oaf."

Loki's voice joined his brother's in his room, and Tony followed the source until he reached The Trickster God. He inclined his head in a grateful nod, before turning to face Thor with an inquiring look.

"I apologise, Anthony.-"

"For the millionth time, Thor, it's me Tony!" As usual, he was ignored. Tony whined and pouted, stupid Gods and their inability use people's nicknames.

The anger faded extremely quickly, though, because Thor's lopsided smile was sheepish as he stepped back and next to his brother. "Please forgive me, Tony." And who was Tony to fault a guy like that. They had just saved his life, and prevented him from spending the night at the hospital, which in his opinion was a definite win.

Speaking of which...

"Thank you, guys. You know, for uh, saving and healing my danger-loving-ass again."

"Aye, it is a fine ass, indeed. We would be fools to let it go to waste."

The reply caught Tony off guard, but not understanding Thor's meaning or intentions, he just laughed the entire thing off. He had seriously heard Thor say weirder shit... like that time he tried to describe how Asgardian women menstruated and how it was to be viewed as a highly sacred and respected ritual. Ugh, bad memories.

The billionaire was glad for the distraction Loki clearing his throat provided.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you two and all, but why are you in my room?"

Thor glanced at Loki with a deer caught in headlights expression. Fortunately for him, he had a silver tongue for a brother who (when the time called for it) could sprout out lies easier than ABC.

"We were just making sure that the healing process went correctly. I'm taking precautions to prevent any unnecessary complications that may still arise." Which was, of course, a bullshit answer because Loki was the absolute best, and his healing capabilities had yet to fail him, but Tony did not know all that.

"Fair enough, but it's almost four in the morning and we should all probably get some sleep."

"Thank you, I thought that you'd never offer." Loki's reply was swift as he magic-ed himself some comfortable clothes and climbed underneath the covers on Tony's right. Thinking twice about his attire, Loki tossed his shirt, smirking as Tony watched the movements of his muscles.

"Uh," Tony cleared his throat. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but whatever. Good Night." And that would have been the end of that, had he not felt this bed dip on the left side as another body crawled in next to his.

He cracked his eyes open, and was for the second time in the past ten minutes, assaulted with the grandiose presence of Thor.

"Okay, I understand," Tony poked Loki with his bandaged finger and immediately regretted the action. "Rudolph being here, but why are you also in my bed?"

The sheepish smile was back once more, and it stayed even as Thor said, "To protect you from the creatures that would seek to do you harm."

He looked so genuinely fucking concerned for Tony's wellbeing that he could not very well kick him out of his room and bed. Besides, he was starting to feel fuzzy around the edges and did not really think to consider the repercussions of his actions.

"Great. We'll have ourselves a big gay slumber party. But with actual sleeping, so goodnight, you warm bastards." And so, he fell asleep snuggled between the two softly smiling Gods.

When they crawled into his bed the following night, and every night after that, with some other obscure excuse, Tony let them.

This was the engineer's second mistake. He should have set some fucking boundaries.

\--  
Two Weeks Ago...

Things had finally delved into the realm of weird. The brothers were now almost constantly around Tony. When their eyes were not following his every move, they would be glaring daggers at each other. Even the other Avengers had started to comment on it. By this point, they all knew what was going on. Bruce had clued Steve in on the strange happenings of the tower and Natasha and Clint figured it out for themselves and then laughed for days behind closed doors.

The only person who remained blissfully clueless was perhaps the smartest person of them all, who as it turned out, was also apparently the King of obliviousness.

The third incident had been entirely uncalled for. Tony's night had begun well enough, but thanks to two Gods, he was suddenly without a Victoria Secret Centrefold model. Life just was not fair to the rich boy.

But we should not get ahead of ourselves.

Five hours prior to the disastrous event found the trio, once again, in Tony's room, as the billionaire prepared some clothing for his big night out. It had been a while since he caused mayhem in the streets and bars of New York and Tony was ecstatic to catch up on all the fun he had been missing out on.

"So," he called out to the two Gods lounging on his bed; one reading a book, the other stuffing his face with strawberry pop tarts – guess who was doing what.

"Goddamn, Thor. How often have I told you to stop eating on my bed?" He shook his head in fond exasperation. "The crumbs will get everywhere!" As if on cue, toasted crumbs fell from the God's beard onto Tony's lovely sheets.

He gave up; just watched Thor's broad face beaming up at him, as if he had put the sun in the sky. He cleared his throat and picked up a navy blue dress-shirt, intent to actually go out tonight.

"Seeing how you two are hell bent on shadowing me, for some unknown reason that I don't care to ask about, you're going to help me play dress up." He back-tracked on what he had just said, "Actually, why are you guys following me around? This isn't some weird God Act, right? You aren't planning on sacrificing me as a virgin to your people because I have bad news for you. There are zero virgins in this establishment."

At the brother's dumbstruck expressions, Tony shrugged and lifted another dress shirt for closer inspection. This one was charcoal in shade.

"Which one do you think makes me look hotter? Pepper's out of town, so play stylist for me." He grinned when Loki rolled his eyes and set down his book while Thor did an excited little bounce atop the bed.

"Where, pray tell, are you going?"

Tony either did not hear the malice dripping of off Loki's tongue, or he chose to ignore it entirely (which was also very possibly) when he replied in a rather chipper tone, "Out, of course."

"Why didn't you invite Thor and I?"

"Well, sorry, but I didn't realise that I would have to invite you to every single event that I choose to attend."

"But you do, though. We're always with you when you attend your galas and other earthly functions." Thor looked entirely too innocent when he stated the obvious.

Tony grimaced a little at the truth in that statement. He had been joking about the shadowing comments, but looking back on the past year or so, he could hardly recall a moment he was not without the Godly brothers. Sure he spent a whole bunch of time with the team, but he was never truly without Thor or Loki (which was weird in itself because he was not a people person - just did not understand their basic wants and needs).

"You guys are strange. Usually, people are trying to get the hell away from me once they've been in my bed. Are you guys some kind of masochists or something?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively when he turned back to them. "Should I get us some kinky S and M items for bed next time?" When in doubt, flirt. That was Tony's motto. He was confused about the normality of that statement. Shouldn't it be weird that they had all been sharing a bed for eleven full months? It definitely should be weird that Tony didn't think he would be able to sleep without being cocooned in the differing body temperatures of the brothers – one comfortingly warm and the other soothingly cool. Those were all loaded thoughts that the genius was not prepared to delve into. Not now...and hopefully, not ever.

The BDSM reference was completely lost on Thor, who frowned deeply in confusion. Loki, however, completely zeroed in on the underlying implications of those scandalous words, eyes widening, pupils dilating, and mouth watering at the onslaught of mental images that assaulted his brain. He gulped audibly, grateful at the fact that Tony had walked back into his closet in search of some trousers.

His face was still frozen in a look of utter disbelief when Tony re-emerged with some charcoal slacks and a deep maroon dress shirt. He took one look at the Trickster God and immediately started laughing.

"Chill out, Loki, I'm not going to tie you up in your sleep and put you over my knee with a paddle if that's what you're thinking." He paused, then gave the trickster God the once over. "Although, I don't think that I'd be adverse to such treatment." He winked for good measure.

In hindsight, Tony realised that he maybe should not have been flirting with the brothers. But as it stood, hindsight was the kind of bitch Tony would have avoided, even in his playboy days pre-Afghanistan. Yeah, he had been joking at the time, but looking back, his actions that evening had definitely cemented his arrival into the climax that we would soon be reaching.

When Loki continued to stare wide-eyed at him, Tony sighed and rubbed his goatee in utter resignation at people's inability to keep up with his humour.

"Jeez, I was kidding. It was a joke, so no harm done."

He snorted when the raven-haired God nodded distractedly. "Just help me pick out some clothes that'll make the ladies go completely crazy for me."

Walking back into the closet had Tony missing the scowl that had suddenly etched its way onto Loki's face. Even Thor, carefree puppy that he was at heart, looked positively livid with that statement.

He spent over fifteen minutes trying to find a dress shirt to go with his charcoal trousers, eventually settling on a crimson one because they made him look wow. In the time that he was gone, Loki had the decency to share the odd –almost one-sided- conversation that he had just had with Tony, so that his brother could share the burden of the images that were literally tattooed into his mind.

And oh, did Thor suffer.

The God of Thunder was almost certain that his libido would start attacking Tony when the genius chose to walk into the room in some black boxer briefs, holding his clothes that he had picked out in one hand and some shoes in another.

"What do you think of this combination?"

"I can't give you an objective answer without seeing what you look like in it." Nobody called Loki out on how haggard he sounded. This mortal was going to be his undoing.

Thor shot him a dangerous look, as if to say 'What is wrong with you? Are you not seeing him almost naked? His olive skin is presented to us. Are you not seeing this? Why would you try to make him cover it up?" Loki saw the look, sort of understood the meaning behind them, and shrugged nonchalantly. Just to annoy his brother. Old habits die hard.

Tony was dense personified. He ignored the looks shared between the brothers and simply acknowledged the logic in Loki's suggestion. He closed the doors to his walk-in closet (more like room) and faced the full-body mirrors on the doors.

The brother's eyes zeroed in on Tony's firm bottom when he bent down to pull his trousers on. It took him a grand total of three minutes to get dressed and the end result was truly dazzling.

When Tony turned to the brothers, smiling that genuine smile he kept reserved for those people he truly loved, Thor was done.

He quickly (somehow managing to be also discreet) threw a pillow over his lap and excused himself out of the room with a muttered, "You look divine, Anthony." Tony did not even question the God's odd behaviour, just soaked in the compliment and allowed Thor to go be Thor elsewhere. He had been acting terribly strange recently, but Tony would deal with that when he was not so focussed on going out, causing mischief, and bringing home a centrefold honey.

He grinned wider with contained excitement, quirking his brow at Loki because he had not said anything. The God of mischief was known for using his words and Tony was getting none of that right now. Loki just stared at him for a long time, and after a few minutes of complete and utter silence, Tony grew worried. He knelt in front of the Trickster God, spreading his legs so that he could situate himself between them. He gripped Loki's chin between his fingers and forced the startled God to look down at him.

He was not unaware of Loki's shuddery breaths and dilated pupils. Maybe his joke had really been out of line.

"Hey, Loki, look at me. Are you okay?" His voice was low, grew concerned when Loki stiffened up at the contact between them.

Just like his brother, he stood up, muttered a, "You look absolutely stunning, Anthony", before leaving the room.

Tony decided to question their strangeness at another time. Maybe it was just a god thing that he could not understand. Maybe you could not compliment someone in Asgard without immediately removing yourself from the vicinity. He would have to look into it, but for now, he was going to have an exciting night out tearing down the city.

»◦◊◦«

Several vodkas and beers later and Tony stumbling out of the elevator with a leggy blonde leeched onto his arm.

Admittedly, his night had not been quite as spectacular as he had built it up to be. He could not stop thinking about the strange behaviours of his resident Gods and the feelings that seemed to envelop him whenever images of their smiling faces would nestle and burrow their way into his heart. It was disconcerting how bland his night had turned out without Loki's mischief and Thor's goofy smiles and ridiculous drinking games. Even the gorgeous girl, Annia (Amanda?), had lost some of her appeal.

Maybe after a good fuck, he would be able to put all of this behind him and start getting back to normal.

Small problem with that idea... There were two very pissed off Gods already in his room.

"Tony," The girl slurred, toeing off her 6" stilettos. "Are they joining us? I mean, I didn't know – you didn't say that we'd be having other participants... But," she inched closer to the two Gods, looking them over and clicking her tongue approvingly. "They're super hot, so I don't think I'd mind if they got involved."

Tony sweat-dropped, giving her a look that clearly stated, 'really, you slut?'

He was not alone with his disgust.

"If you even come near me, woman, I will make you rue the day you were born."

It seemed that the drink had really hit her hard because she stared for a few seconds, blinking rapidly straight after, before falling over in a fit of laughter. "Did he just say 'rue the day'? Who does he think he is? He sounds even more ancient than my dad."

Loki turned his head away from the spectacle making a fool of herself on the plush carpets.

"Seriously, Anthony, you brought back this piece of trash? Were you that desperate for a fuck-"

"Loki." Thor was trying to calm his brother. He could already see the anger coiling beneath Loki's impossibly green eyes. They shone with vindictiveness every time he glanced at the scantily clad figure writhing impatiently on the floor.

"I expected better of you." Loki could not even hear his brother. His eyes clouded over in his anger that all he could see was Tony tangled in the sheets with this whore. This whore who did not deserve him, who did not get to see how ruffled and adorable he looked in the mornings because he was essentially a zombie before his first cup of coffee. And she would not get the chance, either, because Loki knew her type. She would be gone before the sun decided to peak through the horizon.

"Whoa there, big boy, where the hell do you get off judging who I bring home?" Tony could feel his anger rising because damn it this was not how he envisioned this night going at all.

"You dare?" The God was practically sneering at this point, teeth bared as he struggled to get a reign on his anger.

"Oh, he looks so hot when he's mad."

It was chaos after that. Loki lunged for the harlot on the floor and Thor got a stray leg to the face as he tried to wrestle his younger brother from the squirming and shocked female. Tony also jumped into the fray, trying to rescue the poor girl who could not decide whether she was getting off t this or genuinely scared for her life.

Everything silenced when Loki's fist connected with Tony's head, sending him careening into the far wall.

"Oh Gods, Tony, I'm so sorry."

"What the hell, Loki –"

"I didn't-" Loki was sputtering, but Tony's eye was already forming a nasty looking bruise. There was a small cut just above his eyebrow that sent a trickle of blood down his face. He brushed the trail of scarlet with his thumb, grimacing at the blood smeared across the digit.

His eyes were thunderous when he glanced back at Loki.

"Get out. Get the fuck out."

Tony was seething. His pupils were blown so far that there was only a tiny ring of brown surrounding them. If it was not for the angry scowl contorting his face, Loki would have almost said that he looked pretty.

"Fine, if that is the way you want it." He was still a prince and he was not going to reduce himself to begging. Not for a mortal. Not in this scenario.

With his head held high, he stalked out of the room.

Thor was conflicted between staying and making sure that Tony and his date would be okay and running off after his brother before he did something mischievous that he would later regret.

Tony saw the quarrel in his eyes and nodded his head towards the door.

"I'm fine. Go make sure he doesn't get into trouble. I'll show her out."

Thor nodded and stepped closer to Tony, cupping his face in both of his hands and cleaning the blood with a massive finger. "He did not mean to hurt you, Anthony. I'm sure that he regrets it deeply."

Tony nodded and pulled away from the Thunderer.

"I know."

"We'll talk when everything's settled down."

Tony nodded again and Thor left the room, presumable to find an angry and regretful Trickster God.

The engineer glanced down at the girl (whose name he really should have remembered) and noted that she had passed out sometime during the scream off. He dialled Happy's number, checked her bag for her address, and sent her off with his chauffeur when the man came to collect her.

"Interesting night, eh, boos?"

"You have no fucking idea."

The billionaire sank into his sheets, which did not feel nearly as comfortable without the Gods in it, and fell into a fitful slumber. He would have to have a serious talk with the Gods once he woke up.

He groaned audibly. How was this his life?

»◦◊◦«

The talk never came because when he woke up around noon, Thor informed him that he had not been able to locate Loki anywhere. The Trickster god had just upped and teleported, leaving his Stark phone behind, so that he could not be tracked.

"What do you mean he left?" Tony was confused. Last night had been all types of chaotic and the lucid dream he had did nothing to alleviate some of the confusion. If anything, it only made it worst.

»◦◊◦«

It had been eight days and Loki still had not shown up at the tower. Tony was getting pretty restless. Despite all the good that he had done over the past four (almost five) years, Loki still had a lot of enemies out there.

"Jesus Christ, where the fuck is he?" The billionaire was down at his lab for the eighth consecutive day. He had hardly left, eager to reprogram J.A.R.V.I.S., making the A.I. more efficient, so it could trace Loki's magic better. The God must not have been using it because Tony was not finding a single trace of it. His head automatically went to the worst case scenario because what if Loki was severely injured or dead? It would all be his fault. The thought alone scared him into doubling his efforts to find the God.

On the eleventh day, Clint had had enough. He marched into the lab, took one look at Tony and promptly called Steve for back-up. He would have gotten Thor because it was high time that the genius (a title he seriously doubted the man deserved after his obliviousness) found out what the hell had been happening right under his fucking nose. As luck would have it, Thor was also out there searching for his lost sibling.

Steve (literally) carried the billionaire to the lounge and sat him down while they had an intervention. They were so dense about their feelings that it was getting pathetic.

"What the hell? I was busy doing science?"

"No, Tony, you were busy obsessing." Clint shot back, talking to Tony as if he were a dim-witted toddler; which, of course, is stupid because Tony is a genius.

"I can't believe you pulled that shit, dude. You know I love you, but what you did was horrible."

"What I did?" Tony pouted with a tenacity that would make toddlers proud. "He's the one who wigged out on me and went ape shit on my date."

"Oh my God, Tony, listen to yourself. You brought a date home knowing damn well how Loki and Thor feel about you."

Whatever retort that was waiting on the tip of Tony's tongue died when he actually looked at Clint. The seriousness on the archer's face was disconcerting and Tony doubted that he had seen that look on the assassin's face since he had brought up the idea of Loki becoming one of them.

"What do you mean their feelings? Just because they're always around me, buying my gifts, and wanting to sleep in my bed doesn't–" Tony cut himself off, eyes narrowing when Clint dropped the seriousness in order to face-palm, smiling fondly down at Tony.

"Atta, boy, knew you'd figure it out eventually."

"What the fuck? How long have you all known?"

"It was pretty obvious, Tony."

"What? Steve, you knew, too?"

"Ignore him, Tony, Bruce had to point it out to him."

Tony just watched his team - his family - with wide eyes. He could not believe that he had overlooked all those simple gestures: the hand-holding, the presents, and the sleeping in his goddamn bed. He must have been blind to have missed those signs. And he got semi-naked in front of them.

Oh God, he had brought a woman into (when the fuck did it become) their room. Some of the horror he was feeling must have been reflected on his face because out of the corner of his eyes, Tony caught Natasha shaking her head in disbelief. She came towards him, gave him a kiss on the cheek, called him an, "Idiot", and then told him not to worry so much because Loki would be back soon. She was still shaking her head when she left the lounge room. Tony figured that she knew exactly where the Trickster God was, but he did not want to risk Romanov's wrath, so he just nodded his head in understanding and dragged himself to (he guess he better get used to calling it) their room for some much needed sleep.

It was another three days of stewing in guilt before Loki came back.

\--  
The Present...

Tony awoke with a start when he felt the familiar touch of magic dancing on the skin around his eyes, where he was positive that black circles had made a home. He rubbed soothingly at his eyes until he realised that yes that was definitely magic soothing his aches and pains.

He sprung out of bed, relief washing over him when he saw Loki and Thor situated on his bed. Without thinking, Tony tackled the younger God, burying his nose into the pale neck and breathing in the scent that was wholly Loki. He felt slender arms wrap around him and his breath hitched, because God, he was such a jackass.

And for that exact reason, he chose to open their first conversation in two agonising weeks with an accusing, "Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

He turned to look at Thor then, gesturing the man closer when he continued to sulk in the corner of the bed. "Why didn't you say anything, either?"

Thor just smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he nudged himself closer to the billionaire and his beloved brother.

"Honestly, Anthony, I thought you knew."

Loki shook his head, the movements resembling those of someone who had given up hope on mankind. Seriously, Anthony was supposed to be one of the smarter ones, but he turned out to just be ridiculously obtuse when it came to matters of the heart; even when it was his own heart.

"I told you that he was clueless, Thor."

"But all those comments about the BSDM-"

"BDSM, Thor."

"Yeah, all those comments. And he let us sleep in his bed!" Thor did have a valid point there.

"Guys, uh, what are we going to do about," He gestured vaguely between the three of them. "This?"

Thor looked confused for a moment, so Tony elaborated.

"I mean, you," He pointed at Thor. "And you," this time the finger was directly at Loki "are both interested in me, right?"

He got two identical nods; however, Loki, smart as he was, could already see where this was going. He rolled his eyes upwards, praying to the Gods to lend him some patience.

"You're slow, Anthony. Thor and I have an agreement."

Tony was starting to get with the programme and his eyes steadily got wider as the two brothers crawled towards him.

"Uh, wait, shouldn't I have been part of this discussion?"

"We're talking now."

"Shut up, wise ass. You know what I mean. Shouldn't I have a say as to who I actually want to share my bed permanently with?"

That halted the brothers progress, because no. They had not thought about the fact that Tony would only want one of them. They had become so accustomed to coexisting that they had just assumed that they would be together with each other.

"You object to this?" Thor's voice was hushed in the silence that befell the room.

"You will not seek to have us both?" Loki's voice was weary, far too tentative to belong to him. Tony could see the light draining out of his green eyes, like Loki had automatically told himself that the engineer would pick Thor. That he would always be second.

But then the spark was back, like for once, he was going to fight for what he truly wanted.

Tony could see them eyeing each other, and to prevent anyone from peeing on him as a stake to claim –what? He did not know how Gods did these things and settled their love triangles- he decided to put them at ease.

"No." He glanced at the two brothers. "Of course not", he repeated more firmly. "It just seems like something you should have included me in. That's all."

"You know, Anthony, I grow tired of your games."

That was all the warning he got before Thor was smashing his slightly chapped lips on his own, biting at the bottom lip, and drawing a deep moan out of the engineer.

Before he could get his bearings, he was being unceremoniously dropped into Thor's lap, Loki sliding in right behind him, and pressing his mouth against Tony's neck. The engineer bucked his hips, grinding his semi-hard cock against Thor's, moaning when he felt the godly endowment of the Gods rubbing against him.

"So," he began, because he still was not quite sure what they meant by any of this. "This is a thing now? We're going to be do-doing this on a regular basis?" His voice broke and fluttered when Thor slid one of his large hands under his tank top to pinch a hardened nipple.

"Must you ruin everything with your insufferable speech? This being a permanent fixture was sort of the plan." Loki grunted, sliding Tony's shirt off completely when the article refused to stay up.

Tony was not a diva for nothing. He tore his lips away from Thor's long enough to glance back at Loki. "Oh, now I'm insufferable. Just seconds ago, I was completely delectable. But you know, good to know where we stand on this."

The God sighed deeply. Instead of responding with words, he slid his pale hand into Tony's trousers, pulling out a semi-hardened length and teased it between his sensual fingers.

Yeah, that got the snarky billionaire to stop his complaining. The sound that came out of his mouth, however, would forever be burnt into the brothers' collective memory.

The brothers moved in sync with each other, giving their full attention to the panting billionaire. Their hands were everywhere; Loki's slender ones filling the gaps Thor could not reach and vice versa.

It was to moans of appreciation and declarations of adoration that the trio fell into slumber, more satisfied than they had been in a very long while.

»◦◊◦«

Tony awoke to the most serene sight he had ever laid eyes on. Like the human fuzz-balls that they were, the brothers had tucked into his left and right side respectively. In the dimness of the room, it was hard to discern where his legs ended and another began. Despite the lack of light, it was difficult to miss the content that had overtaken Loki's usually stern features or the look of total bliss on Thor's.

He smiled fondly down at the brothers, unable to believe that this was really happening. He had always likened himself to a Sex God, but to actually be able to call two of such magnificent beings his, Tony could not stomp down the feeling of complete ardour that fluttered in the pit of his stomach.

Lost within the depths of his mind, he failed to notice two sets of eyes open and look at him in a similar fashion, emerald and sapphire pools filled with devotion and love.

An innocent kiss on either cheek brought him back to the here and now, and he honest to God beamed with happiness. However, there was still something nagging on his chest.

"Next time you douchetards have something serious to tell me, just come out and say it. As you can see, I clearly don't always pick up on the apparently obvious."

"I figured your genius brain would've caught on. I overestimate you." Loki quipped right back.

"Brother, play nice." Thor interjected, running a loving hand through his brother's raven locks.

"I promise that we will, Anthony." Thor smiled down at him before shifting out of the bed. "Would you like me to fix your morning coffee? Jarvis has helped me master your newest coffee device."

If it was possible, Tony's smile got wider. "You're the only good person left in the world, Thor."

Loki coughed silently next to him. "Is he now?"

"Well, you gave me morning sarcasm and Thor retaliated with offerings of coffee. That's a point for Golden Boy."

"I could offer a lot more than coffee."

The want laced in Loki's voice was hard to miss. The way his eyes darkened and his skin flushed had Tony feeling all types of giddy on the inside.

"Challenge accepted."

Loki dived at him, mouthing at his throat with a single-minded ferocity.

"Not without me, brother."

Thor decided to join the fray. Coffee could wait. For once in his life, Tony did not argue.

Steve had been alerted to Loki's arrival with Thor during the night, but he had respectfully given them time to talk and figure out their differences. Feeling determined because their home was still in one piece, he made his way down to Tony's room and knocked twice.

"A-ah, Loki."

"Bite the bed, Anthony. I'm going in dry."

"No. Fuck, Thor. You'll rip me apart. J-Jesus."

Face redder than a tomato, Steve turned around and ran in the opposite direction with the most confused boner in history. He was sure that they were fine. He would speak to them later on neutral territory. Like the kitchen or lounge. Basically, anywhere that what he had just heard would not be considered normal conversation.

Steve stormed past Clint and barrelled right through him in his haste to be as far away from the trio as possible. The archer glanced at the noticeable bulge in his captain's trousers and quirked an amused brow as he laughed to himself.

"Saw something you like, Cap?"

"Nope, nothing at all. I'm just late for my morning run."

Clint laughed, waved, and yelled, "If you say so" behind their retreating captain.

To save himself from whatever had just scarred their captain, Clint turned back around, already going towards Natasha's room to tell her of his new source of amusement. If she awoke in a good mood, mischievous beauty that she was, she definitely would not object to Operation: Captain America Seduction.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope that you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. College has been relentless, but luckily, I just graduated, so I have some spare time until I go back to University for the next stage of my life. ^_^
> 
> As always, send me your requests and I'll make stuff happen! :D
> 
> Thank you for reading.
> 
> Love,
> 
> NinjaPirate. x
> 
> P.S. Most of my stories are on www.fanfiction.net/~blessingninjapirate, but hopefully, I'll have them up on here soon. ^_^


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